When Matt Karmil released Reverse Peephole in 2013 it was clear we had a startling and creative new talent in our midst. Fast forward a few years and Karmil has released on the best taste making labels in the game, with 12''s notched up for Beats in Space, Studio Barnhus and of course Idle Hands - his debut for the Bristol label, Play It / Do It / Say It, having appeared in the summer of 2015, providing leading DJs with head turning staples for their sets, blazing its three tracks across many a dancefloor.
As Idle Hands enters 2016, what better way to start than with a new LP from Karmil? Originally the tracks on this album were sent as a bundle to label boss Chris Farrell, who was looking to pick a track for a single release. Listening to the music as a whole, it became clear to the Idle Hands man that it needed to be released as such. This is the result: 13 tracks presented just as they were originally sent over in a zip.
This is IDLE033: The sound of an accomplished dancefloor producer stretching out. These aren't straight dance tracks, neither is this a ponderous ambient LP. This is vivid, vital electronic music for modern times. Tracks to cut through the monotony of depressingly average house and techno releases. The music shimmers with warmth and humanity, a testament to Karmil's personality as well as his skill as a producer.
One can sense in the tracks that this a musician who has travelled and absorbed much along the way: Long drawn out winter nights in Sweden with the Studio Barnhus crew. Years spent in Cologne with its distinguished electronic sound, a city which has given so much to the world with Kompakt and more. Last but not least you can sense Karmil's upbringing here in the UK, the roughness and rudeness all added to the mix.
Idle Hands has never been a label to follow trends or to take the easy path. It has strived to keep people guessingand to remain in awe and wonder at new music being produced. InMatt Karmil it has found a producer whoembodies this notion.